The Middle East and North Africa Scholarship Programme (MENA/MSP)

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Scholarship Programme (or MSP) offers scholarships to professionals from ten countries. The scholarships can be used for short courses, with duration up to 89 days, in the Netherlands.

The main aim of the MSP is to contribute to democratic transition in the selected countries. It also aims at building capacity within organisations, by enabling employees to take part in short courses in the Netherlands. While the scholarship is awarded to individuals, all candidates must be nominated by their employer to be able to participate. The need for training has to be demonstrated in the context of the organisation the applicant is employed by. The training course must help the organisation develop its capacity.

The programme strives to allocate 50% of the budget to female candidates. The programme is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is monitored by Nuffic. The funding application and nomination process for the MSP programme is partially executed by the Dutch institution. 

Target group

The MSP scholarship programme is open to professionals who are nationals of - and living and working in - one of the countries listed below:

Algeria - Egypt - Iraq - Jordan - Lebanon - Libya - Mauretania -Morocco - Sudan - Syria - Oman - Tunisia

Scholarship value

The scholarship value depends on the duration of your programme at the University of Twente. Please note that the scholarship does not cover all the costs of the study trajectory. It is not a full fellowship.

Application requirements

To be considered for a provisional nomination you must be found eligible/unconditionally admitted by the University of Twente. To qualify for this scholarship, applicants must fulfill the following requirements:

• You are a mid-career professional (up to 45 years of age);
• You are academically accepted by the UT and have obtained a letter of admittance to the short course;
• You can apply MSP when you live and work in one of the countries on the MSP country list;
• You must have a current employer’s statement which complies with the format Nuffic has provided.  This means you will need to provide an employer’s statement. You can find the Word format of this letter here (to be found at the bottom of the list). The employer’s letter should be written on employer’s letter heading and signed and stamped by an authorized person/head of organization. The letter should be dated. If your letter does not meet the format it will be discarded and your application is considered incomplete. All information must be provided and all commitments, which are included in the format, must be endorsed in the statement;
• You must not be employed by an organisation that has its own means of staff development. Organisations that are considered to have their own means of staff development are for example: multinational corporations (e.g. Shell, Unilever, Microsoft); large national and/or a large commercial organisation; bilateral donor organisations (e.g. USAID, DFID, Danida, Sida, Dutch ministry of Foreign affairs, FinAid, AusAid, ADC, SwissAid); multilateral donor organisations, (e.g. a UN organisation, the World Bank, the IMF, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, IADB); international NGO’s (e.g. Oxfam, Plan, Care);
• You must supply a motivation on why you wish to be nominated. Please download the mandatory format of this statement from the MSP pages (to be found almost at the bottom of the list).  For MSP certain priorities have been indicated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is advised to clearly state your affinity and interest in one of the priority areas for MSP in your country and/or region.It is advised to contact your Embassy on this issue.  
• You might be required to submit a government statement. Please check this listing if you are required to do so. Please download the mandatory format of this statement from the MSP pages (to be found almost at the bottom of the list).
• You posses a valid identifcation document (preferably a passport) that is (at least) valid during the entire application process;
• You are not allowed to receive more than one fellowship simulataneously for programmes taking place at the same time.

Selection

The University of Twente will determine the final pre-nomination positions based on your application in DELTA. You will be informed on the outcome accordingly within 4 weeks after deadline on the status of your application. The University of Twente plays no part in the final allocation of a scholarship. Nuffic will determine the allocation of fellowships and will also consult Embassies in the selection process. If you have been selected by Nuffic, yet are not in the position to attend the course under MSP we stress you to inform us immediately.

Questions? 

If you have additional questions about the MSP scholarship application process, please contact the MSP contact person for the University of Twente.

How to apply

If you are considered eligible for consideration for MSP funding by the University of Twente, you will receive a link to a web-form (DELTA) for the formal MSP application process. Before you start filling out the registration form, please read the registration instructions for candidates carefully.

When you apply using the candidate registration form, it is essential to have all the required aforementioned documents readily available. Please make sure you have the following documents at hand:

• Copy of Identity card or passport (valid for the entire application process)
• Employer statement (see format above)
• (Conditional) Admission letter
• Motivation (see format above)
• If applicable: Government Statement

It is not possible to save your application or return to it at a later stage. Once the institute MSP deadline is passed, applications will be longer considered.

The funding application and nomination process for both programmes are partially executed by the Dutch institution. Application for an MSP scholarship is a procedure separate from the application for course entry. Regardless of funding, you will need to register and be found academically accepted for a course first. To apply for MSP funding, please make sure your academic application reaches us well before any MSP deadline for academic assessment may take ample time. You need to be academically acceptable to be able to apply for most types of funding.  

Deadline for application

• At the University of Twente on 12 March 2024* (for pre-processing)
• At NUFFIC on 26 March 2024 at 4 pm CEST

* Applications must be submitted first to the University of Twente. After assessment and approval, the University of Twente will inform you on how to apply for the MSP scholarship. Therefore, keep in mind the final application date at the University of Twente on 12 March 2024! After this date, no MSP applications can be accepted by the UT.